TeX / LaTeX on-the-fly preview
Is there a tool that allows on-the-fly preview for TeX?
I really like the idea of what Hyperedit does for HTML (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~deutschj/HyperEdit).
I really like the idea of what Hyperedit does for HTML (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~deutschj/HyperEdit).
Comments
Originally posted by der fuerst
Is there a tool that allows on-the-fly preview for TeX?
I really like the idea of what Hyperedit does for HTML (http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~deutschj/HyperEdit).
If by that you mean on the fly rendering of TeX as you write it, then Textures is the only product on the Mac that does it. Unfortunately, it is not a MacOS X-native application. iTeXMac and TeXshop are GUI front ends on MacOS X for the Unix-based teTeX. They are both freeware and do a beautiful job of rendering TeX in PDF. teTeX is also freeware. These front ends don't do on-the-fly rendering.
Originally posted by Mr. Me
If by that you mean on the fly rendering of TeX as you write it, then Textures is the only product on the Mac that does it. Unfortunately, it is not a MacOS X-native application. iTeXMac and TeXshop are GUI front ends on MacOS X for the Unix-based teTeX. They are both freeware and do a beautiful job of rendering TeX in PDF. teTeX is also freeware. These front ends don't do on-the-fly rendering.
I use LyX, which has an Aqua version now. Its not exactly a preview, but its pretty close. More than sufficient for day to day use. But you'll still be outputting to PDF when you are tweaking for the final document.
TeXShop is a minimalist text editor, with a decent click-to-insert panel for the most common LaTeX elements, and it uses tetex under the hood, so it's quite quick. And, it's PDF all the way, baby.
Originally posted by Kickaha
Unfortunately, LyX's UI is *horrible*... unless you like Linux/Java UI design. :P Ick. Ick, ick, ick, ick, retch.
TeXShop is a minimalist text editor, with a decent click-to-insert panel for the most common LaTeX elements, and it uses tetex under the hood, so it's quite quick. And, it's PDF all the way, baby.
LyX doesnt have the best interface in the world, but you are using LaTeX...
Have you seen the Aqua version? It is much better than the xforms one. It is based on the QT version, using the port of the QT library to Aqua. The biggest problems are tight layout, and some sorta ugly buttons in the toolbar.
LyX is no Mac app, and it shines all the way through. But I really appreciate the speed it gives in writing tex docs. Im no expert, and Id have to spend a lot of time looking up how to do things, that are, in LyX, quite discoverable.
I also looked at TeXShop, and the iTex<thingy> apps. Cant say I thought too much of their UI's either. LyX used to be very weak in that there were things you could represent in tex that LyX didnt support. The latest versions seem to be much better, I havent run into anything that I need that isnt available anymore. And, with a good install of supporting packages, I can insert graphics ( even svg ) and they work ! Its amazing ( compared to days when the only graphic format I could get to work was eps ).
Originally posted by mmmpie
LyX doesnt have the best interface in the world, but you are using LaTeX...
Er... that's like saying that a lousy word processor is fine because you're using RTF.
Have you seen the Aqua version? It is much better than the xforms one. It is based on the QT version, using the port of the QT library to Aqua. The biggest problems are tight layout, and some sorta ugly buttons in the toolbar.
LyX is no Mac app, and it shines all the way through. But I really appreciate the speed it gives in writing tex docs. Im no expert, and Id have to spend a lot of time looking up how to do things, that are, in LyX, quite discoverable.
Hmm. You're dead on about it not being a Mac app... not even close. I have to admit that I can't comment on the discoverability of LaTeX within it though... I frankly couldn't discover much of anything through that UI.
I also looked at TeXShop, and the iTex<thingy> apps. Cant say I thought too much of their UI's either. LyX used to be very weak in that there were things you could represent in tex that LyX didnt support. The latest versions seem to be much better, I havent run into anything that I need that isnt available anymore. And, with a good install of supporting packages, I can insert graphics ( even svg ) and they work ! Its amazing ( compared to days when the only graphic format I could get to work was eps ).
TeXShop doesn't *try* to be a WYSIWYG editor by any means, it's a LaTeX editor - which means a raw text editor. It provides a simple palette for the most common LaTeX commands, and a robust macro and scripting system for more esoteric stuff. (And the auto-complete is nice too.) LaTeX is too extensively extensible and there are too many random packages out there for a GUI to be able to adequately tackle any meaningful subset for everyone's satisfaction - I prefer the flexibility of TeXShop's customization, even is it means selecting a menu item from a pop-up instead of a button from a palette. To me, the two are pretty equivalent, but the macros provide more raw power. *shrug*
LyX shoots high, and falls flat IMHO. One to keep an eye on in the future though. If they can keep the core engine and give it a decent UI over time, it'd be well worth looking into again.